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The only daily newspaper published in McHenry Co.
AY
1, 2013 013
75 CENTS
SENIOR AMATEUR • SPORTS, B1
ON THE RECORD WITH ... • LOCAL, A3
Marengo’s Schwartz wins Championship Flight
Brett Wright turned his fear into a passion for storm chasing
Push would make sprinklers a must for new residences Homebuilders group opposes effort By OLIVIA GILBERTSEN ogilbertsen@shawmedia.com
Photos by Brett Moist for Shaw Media
Jordan Harris connects for a hit June 16 during the second inning of a Challenger Little League game at the Merryman Little League Fields in Woodstock.
Baseball ‘buddies’ Challenger League players’ growth is worth effort By SHAWN SHINNEMAN sshinneman@shawmedia.com
J
ordan Harris has me hooked before the first game starts. Coach Rich Yelle points him out from afar, and I walk up to meet the 8-year-old from Crystal Lake whom I’m paired with for the next six weeks. It is May 5, a sun-filled Sunday and Game 1 of Woodstock’s Challenger Little League, a league for children with special needs that had its inaugural season a year ago. I have signed on to be a “buddy,” and as such, I’m paired with a player to assist throughout the game – running with him around the bases, standing nearby to provide pointers when it’s our turn to take the field. We wear neon-yellow shirts. Jordan is in his Cardinals No. 7 jersey. His gray pants are pulled half the way up the red socks on his shins. His hat slightly pushes out his ears. “Hey, how ya doing?” he asks after our introduction, sticking out his hand to shake mine. We stand about 10 yards apart and play catch. Jordan handles most everything I toss to him, even though he’s just told me this is his first time playing baseball. He throws well, too. Body elongated, right foot nudged a half foot forward from his left, he extends his arm straight up, then slingshots
By FRANK JORDANS and LARA JAKES The Associated Press
Devontae Jones and his “buddy,” Haylee Welle, run to home plate to score a run June 16 during the second inning of a Challenger Little League game at the Merryman Little League Fields in Woodstock.
Challenger League players prepare for road trip Some players from the Woodstock Challenger League will get a chance to showcase their skills on ESPN3 at the Little League World Series in August. Illinois District 13 – made up of Woodstock, Bartlett and the Dundee-based Tri-Cities – was selected
LOOKING FORWARD
to field a team for an exhibition game Aug. 24, the day of the LLWS championship in South Williamsport, Pa. The game precedes the U.S. championship and international championship games. ESPN3 is an online
streaming service provided by ESPN. District 13 has put together a team of 15 players to face District 57 in Livermore, Calif. The two teams were picked from more than 900 Challenger leagues worldwide.
– Shawn Shinneman
WEDNESDAY
LAKESIDE FESTIVAL GETS ROLLING IN CL The Lakeside Festival runs Wednesday through Sunday at Lakeside Legacy Arts Park, Crystal Lake. The festival features live music, food, Taste by the Lake, beer/wine/tropical drink gardens, carnival, parade, fireworks and tours of the Dole Mansion. Visit www.lakesidelegacy.org or call 815-455-8000.
Johnny Depp
WEDNESDAY: “The Lone Ranger,” starring Armie Hammer, opens in theaters. Armie Hammer Walt Disney Pictures
LOW
77 60 Complete forecast on A10
Tom Stephani 30-year member of the National Association of Home Builders the legislators,” said Milly Santiago, spokeswoman for the Illinois state fire marshal. Sprinkler systems act quickly to extinguish fires, which is why they are effective, Matkaitis said. Fire doubles in size every 30 seconds. In addition, 75 percent of firefighters in Illinois are volunteers who need to drop what they are doing to respond to a fire. That takes precious time, Matkaitis said.
See SPRINKLERS, page A6
NSA spying claims rile European allies
See BUDDIES, page A6
HIGH
A new building code mandate from the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal could become the statewide standard. The code would make Illinois the third state to require a sprinkler system in all new residential construction. The office says sprinkler systems will save lives and are cost-effective, but the National Association of Home Builders believes the mandate is unnecessary. “This mandate would have saved 100 lives of the 125 residential fire deaths we had last year,” said Larry Matkaitis, executive director of the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal. “Plus, the sprinklers would save billions of dollars in damages and thousands of injuries.” Matkaitis said he hopes the code will be passed by the General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules by the beginning of 2014. “At this point, it is under review and is in the hands of
“The fire marshal is trying to make it a rule when it should go through legislation. Sprinklers are welcome to those who want them, but most consumers do not think the cost benefit is worth it.”
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See NSA, page A6
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The week’s happenings in news, sports and more. Page A2
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Vol. 28, Issue 182
Where to find it Advice Classified Comics
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration faced a breakdown in confidence Sunday from key foreign allies who threatened investigations and sanctions against the U.S. over secret surveillance programs that reportedly installed covert listening devices in European Union offices. U.S. intelligence officials said they will directly discuss with EU officials the new allegations, reported in Sunday’s editions of the German news weekly Der Spiegel. But the former head of the CIA and National Security Agency urged the White House to make the spy programs more transparent to calm public fears about the American government’s snooping. It was the latest backlash in a nearly monthlong global
debate over the reach of U.S. surveillance that aims to prevent terror attacks. The two programs, both run by the NSA, pick up millions of telephone and Internet records that are routed through American networks each day. They have raised sharp concerns about whether they violate public privacy rights at home and abroad. Several European officials – including in Germany, Italy, France, Luxembourg and the EU government itself – said the new revelations could scuttle ongoing negotiations on a trans-Atlantic trade treaty that, ultimately, seeks to create jobs and boost commerce by billions annually in what would be the world’s largest free trade area. “Partners do not spy on each other,” said EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding. “We cannot negotiate
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